Of Darkness and Light
by Spring Witch
Summary: Sequel to Starting Over. Harry and Lucius' kids are now at Hogwarts, and James' unusual powers are beginning to be a problem. When he breaks the seal on a frightening painting, can James and his family stop the Unseelie Court before all hell breaks loose?
1. In Trouble Again

Hi everyone, and welcome to the first chapter of _Of Darkness and Light_, the sequel to _Starting Over_. I suddenly realised that I had a brilliant sequel in James, so I decided that I'd better get my butt in gear and post it! I think (read: hope) that all you guys who loved _Starting Over_ will love this, so please tell me what you think!

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any related character. All the kids belong to me except Teddy and Victoire.**

* * *

**Of Darkness and Light**

**Chapter 1**

James Lucius Malfoy was in trouble yet again. The seventeen year old grimaced as he tried unsuccessfully to block his father's rant out of his mind, to no avail.

"What were you _thinking_?" his father demanded of him suddenly. "No wait, don't answer that, you _weren't _thinking at all!" he began his ranting again, from what James was fairly certain was the beginning, where he'd started reading the riot act to his son almost an hour ago. James was certain he heard the words 'insane', 'brainless' and 'adopted' coming from his dad's now almost unintelligible tirade.

James knew he wasn't adopted. He'd heard the story surrounding his parents' courtship too many times now to know that his dad was simply being dramatic. He also knew that he was in _serious_ trouble. His dad usually didn't go off like this, not even when James had misbehaved in the past, but when his dad got angry like this, he knew it wasn't going to be pretty.

He was saved by his father entering the room. "Harry, my love, you've started from the beginning again. No doubt he tuned you out half an hour ago." He chuckled. James resisted the urge to grin, knowing that to do so in his current situation could result in his premature death.

"Besides, he's late for Potions. He was supposed to be there fifteen minutes ago." Lucius Malfoy added, winking slightly at his second son.

Harry Potter-Malfoy stopped his seething and looked up at his husband. He scowled and threw his hands up in the air. "Fine, get going. However," he glared at his son. "We are not finished yet young man." He promised.

James gulped, but nevertheless kissed his dad on the cheek. "I'll see you tonight Dad." He said quietly, before allowing his father to tow him from the room and towards Potions.

Lucius threw his arm around his son's shoulders as they walked towards the dungeons together. James looked up at his father. "You're not going to yell at me too?" he asked.

Lucius sighed. "I'm not going to pretend I'm not disappointed in you James." He said slowly. James winced. His father's quiet disappointment was almost as bad as his dad's raging temper. "Your severe misuse of your powers has got you into trouble too many times now. Queen Maerad has taught you how to control your powers since you started at Hogwarts, but your control seems to allow you to think that you can do anything you want with them. I'm sorry, but tormenting Ariel's boyfriend is not what you're supposed to do with them."

James saw the merest flicker of a smile cross his father's face, and grinned too. "Ah. You don't like him either, do you?" he said.

The smile on Lucius' face grew. "No. He's what you and your sisters would call a 'jerk', and what Draco would call a 'prat'." His face grew serious again. "But Ariel has to find that out for herself. We can't interfere, no matter how much we might want to."

"So we can't say… fail him on purpose then?" James asked slyly.

"That wasn't me, that was Severus." Lucius said immediately, although James was sure it was a collaborative effort. "He's rather overprotective of his little girl."

James snorted. "Like you're any better." He muttered.

Lucius chose to ignore the comment. "Nevertheless, you cannot go around using your powers so irresponsibly, that is what your dad and I are trying to get through to you. Each time you do something like this, you do something worse. Your dad and I are concerned that one day you will do something truly awful with your powers, something that no one can fix."

"I didn't really hurt him though did I?" James asked.

"Enough." Lucius said. "But your dad has some rather unpleasant memories surrounding that spell, which is why it upset him so much that you used it. What happened yesterday scared him, I think."

"What happened?"

"That, son, is a story for another day. Come on, we're here." His father said, and pushed him into the Potions classroom.

* * *

Harry sighed as James and Lucius left the Hospital Wing together. He was getting concerned about James's more and more frequent abuse of his power. Harry didn't think his oldest son even realised that the way he used his magic was wrong, he just didn't think about what he did before he did it; which could be potentially more dangerous than knowingly using his powers for dark purposes.

His musings were interrupted by Draco's arrival. "Did you read him the riot act?" he asked.

Harry sighed. "Yes, for all the good it did." He replied. "It's worrying me Draco."

"We knew this might happen Harry." Draco said. "We knew the moment he started displaying these Faerie powers that he would want to use them. Maerad warned us something like this was possible."

"I know, but I wish he'd understand how dangerous his powers can be." Harry sighed.

There was silence before Draco broke into a grin. "How hard was it not to laugh instead of yell?"

"Very." Harry admitted with a smile of his own. "I like the boy about as much as you do."

Draco grimaced. "The kid's a creep. I can't wait until she wises up and gets rid of him. What did James do to him that got you so riled anyway?"

"Wrapped him in rose vines and suspended him from the Entrance Hall ceiling." Harry growled.

Draco winced. "Aside from the pain those thorns would inflict, that's a variation on…"

"On what Maerad did to Ron, seventeen years ago, I know." Harry sighed. "I'd like to know who gave him the idea, so I can give them a piece of my mind. On the bright side, the guy's also allergic, and James bloomed a giant rose right in front of his face."

Draco laughed at that. "I wondered why the kid's face was the size of a quaffle when he came in." he sobered. "Still, I know that night holds some bad memories for you."

Harry shrugged. "Minerva's given him about six months worth of detention, so hopefully that'll keep him out of trouble for a while." He said.

They were interrupted when the door opened and a small first year girl came in nursing a burnt hand. Clearly a Potions accident. Both Mediwizards sighed. "Time to get back to work." Draco groused, even as he smiled kindly at the girl.

Harry chuckled. "When have we ever stopped working?" he asked, and Draco grinned in reply.

* * *

James was coming out of Potions and was about to head towards lunch when he was pulled into an empty classroom. Turning to face his assailant, he was faced with a rather furious Ariel. "What is _wrong_ with you?" she hissed at him.

"Erm…" James said, pretending to be confused.

"Don't you try and pull that innocent act with me James Lucius Malfoy!" she shrieked, causing James to cast a hasty silencing charm around the room. No one else needed to hear the dressing down he was about to get from the irate girl. "Well, what do you want me to say Ariel? That I'm sorry? Cause I hate to tell you this, but I'm not."

Ariel clenched her teeth. "You should be!" she told him furiously. "That's my _boyfriend_ that you suspended from the Entrance Hall ceiling!"

"He's a tool, Ariel." James said frankly, "He's only with you because he thinks he can get some. I've heard him say as much." He sighed. "I didn't do it for the fun of it Ari, I did it because he's going to hurt you."

Ariel seemed to deflate a little. James was generally a quiet boy, didn't say much, and only tended use his strange faerie powers out of curiosity, although it usually ended up going horribly, horribly wrong, which was why he was constantly getting in trouble with his dad for 'misuse of power'. If he said he was trying to defend her, he was probably telling the truth.

Finally, she sighed. "James, you need to let me find these things out for myself. Or, if you're truly concerned about me, you should just come and_ talk_ to me, rather than taking matters into your own hands."

"Would you have listened to me?" James asked her.

Ariel sighed. "No, probably not." She admitted. "But you shouldn't use your powers first and ask questions later. Promise me that next time you'll try and talk to me first."

James nodded. "I'll try." He assured her. "So, what about _him_?" he asked her. "Are you going to stay with him?"

"Of course not!" Ariel chirped happily. "The moment I find him, he's _gone_! I always knew he was a loser!"

James grinned at her. "That's my girl!" he laughed. "I always knew you were smarter that that!"

She grinned back. "And just for the record, as I recall, _your_ last boyfriend wasn't exactly wonderful either."

James groaned. "Don't remind me!" he grumbled.

* * *

Regardless of the fact that Ariel dumped the problematic boy not half an hour later, James soon discovered that Harry's lecture was not over. Not by a long shot. So, after listening to his dad's ranting for forty-five minutes, he headed up to his dormitory in the Gryffindor tower grounded for a month, with another two months worth of Saturday detentions with Professor McGonagall on top of that, which meant that he could effectively kiss goodbye any trips to Hogsmeade in the foreseeable future.

He was on his way out of his parents' suite when he was accosted by his three sisters. Antigone and Ismene, known to family and friends as Annie and Izzy, where twelve years old and in the Second Year, and nine year old Miranda, who still lived in the suite with their parents until she was due to start school in a few years. Around their necks, the twins wore amethyst pendants, made for them by James the day they were born. Miranda also wore a pendant, with an agate gemstone hanging from the chord, yet another gem James created for the protection of his youngest sister. The twins were the spitting image of their father, Antigone with her silver-blonde hair cut so that it brushed gently against her shoulders, and Ismene with hers reaching almost to her waist. Both girls had their dad's brilliant green eyes. Miranda on the other hand, looked nothing like any of her older siblings. Her hair was a dark red, much like her grandma Lily's, although she too had inherited Harry's eyes. James himself took after Harry, although he had Lucius' eyes.

"Man, are you in trouble." Antigone teased.

"Tell me about it." James groaned.

"I thought dad was going to kill you for a moment there." Ismene told him.

"Me too!" James replied.

"James is in trouble! James is in trouble!" Miranda sing-songed cheerfully.

"Hush you!" James retorted good naturedly, ruffling his sister's hair. "Anyway, I'd better go, I've been given strict orders to go straight back to Gryffindor Tower."

"Okay. Goodnight big brother. We've only come to say goodnight to dad and father and then we're heading back to Slytherin." Ismene smiled and hugged him, as did Antigone and Miranda.

"Night you three." James laughed and headed out of the fourth floor suite (next to the Hospital Wing) and up the stairs towards the seventh floor.

When he entered the common room, he found his best friend, Teddy Lupin, waiting for him on a couch. With him was his other close friend, Victoire Weasley, who was in her Sixth Year, a year below them. Coincidentally, she was also Teddy's girlfriend.

Teddy was the son of Remus and Nymphadora Tonks. Sirius had been on the run from the Ministry right up until the final battle, and Remus and Tonks had been together at the time. Sirius had been cleared of any involvement in the murders of the thirteen Muggles not long after the battle had ended, and Remus then was free to resume his long time relationship with Sirius. Tonks had been quite happy with this, having known that she and Remus had never been in love themselves. Her pregnancy had been a shock to all parties, but they had nevertheless agreed that they would attempt to raise their child together, to the best of their abilities. Sadly, the injuries that the young Auror had sustained during the final battle had proved too much for Tonks, and with the further strains of pregnancy added to that, the young woman had not survived childbirth. Baby Teddy had been left in the custody of his grandmother, while Remus and Sirius had tried desperately to gain custody of the little boy they both loved so dearly. While they had been able to visit Teddy often, the Ministry believed that an ex-felon and a werewolf were not suitable guardians for the child. It had taken both Andromeda Tonks, and Harry's involvement for the Ministry to change their minds. So now, Teddy, adopted by Sirius, his mother's cousin, lived happily with his fathers, and was still doted on by his grandmother. And he loved every minute of it.

"Mitchell and Alyssa wanted to know if you were in the shit." He told James lazily. Mitchell and Alyssa referred to Mitchell Weasley and Alyssa Zabini. Mitchell was his cousin, Aunt Hermione and Uncle Charlie's oldest child, and Alyssa was the daughter of my dad and older brother's friends, Uncle Blaise and Uncle Neville. She was also Mitchell's best friend. Put them with Antigone and Ismene, and there was some serious trouble to be had, regardless of their different houses, they shared a lot of classes because they were in the same year.

"Of course I was in the shit. You cannot _imagine_ the pile of shit I was in!" James replied theatrically, throwing himself onto the couch on the other side of Victoire. "I'm pretty sure dad was losing his voice by the time he'd finished yelling at me."

Victoire sniffed. "Well, did Ariel dump the fucker after all that?" she demanded.

James grinned. "Yep!" he carolled.

"Well, that's something isn't it." Teddy replied. "So how many detentions did Professor McGonagall give you?"

"Two months worth." James moaned. "The only way I'll see Hogsmede this side of Easter is to get to the train station to go home for the holidays!"

"What about Uncle Severus?" Teddy asked

James laughed. "He gave me twenty points as I was leaving Potions!" This sent both his friends into peals of laughter.

"But Dad's confined me to the Tower whenever I'm not in lessons or using the library." James grumbled.

"Are you really so surprised?" Victoire asked him.

"No, not really." James sighed.

"What about your father?" Teddy queried.

"He tried to be strict, and he backed dad on everything, but I think he was glad to see Ariel get rid of that tosser." James replied with a small smile.

"Well," Teddy said, heaving himself of the couch. "I'm going to turn in. Double Herbology in the morning." He kissed Victoire's cheek and looked at James. "You coming?"

"Maybe later." James replied. "I think I'm going to go for a walk. Clear my head a bit."

"I thought Uncle Harry confined you to the tower?" Victoire said.

"He did, but I'm not going to go far. I won't be long." James promised her. She nodded, pursing her lips together, only softening when her cousin kissed her cheek. "I'll be back soon Vic, I promise."

She scowled at the nick name, but smiled at his sincerity. "All right, but be careful. Goodnight Jamesy."

"Night." Teddy echoed from the dormitory stairs.

"Night guys." James waved before disappearing out the portrait hole.

* * *

Walking through the seventh floor corridor, James though about what had happened in the last forty-eight hours. He didn't exactly go out of his way to cause trouble, but it seemed to attract him. He had used his powers against Ariel's now ex-boyfriend because he had been a loser that was going to hurt her. Before that… well, let's not go there. Let's just say that this wasn't the first time James' powers had got him in trouble during his time at Hogwarts.

A sudden meowing noise made James jump and look around. There, standing behind him, was Mrs. Norris, Filch's cat. James groaned as the cat trotted off, no doubt to find her master. Through his mild panic, James wondered if the old, moth eaten cat would ever die. It had been ancient when his dad had been a student.

Looking around for a place to hide, pacing worriedly, he saw with relief that the door to the Room of Requirement had appeared in the wall. Relieved, James pushed open the heavy door and darted inside. Listening quietly at the door, he heard Filch stalk past, cat in tow. "Student out of bed, my pet? Don't worry, we'll catch 'em!"

James shuddered at the crooning voice the revolting old man used to address his cat. The man really was disgusting.

Now that the danger seemed to have passed, James surveyed the Room. His hiding place was a large, cluttered room full to the brim with junk. Deciding he might as well explore a bit, James began to sift through the piles of stuff. "Looks as though generations of students have been hiding their crap in here." He mused to himself. He opened an old cupboard, coughing a little as the dust stirred. Inside was an old copy of _Advanced Potion Making_. Picking it up and leafing through the pages, James saw that there were notes written in the margins. Being relatively good at potions (something he inherited from his father, rather than his dad), James knew that some of these notes would be useful. He pocketed the book and kept wandering.

Eventually reaching the far corner of the vast room, and having found nothing more of use, James was about to turn and head back towards the door when something caught his eye.

It was a portrait, ancient and dusty, sitting propped up against the wall in the corner, covered with an even dustier blanket. Intrigued, as if he were being pulled towards it, James lifted the dirty cover off of the heavy gilded frame. Blowing the dust off of the portrait, he couldn't help but gasp at the gruesomeness of the painting. It was as dark and disgusting looking as the rest of the room, and as James blew some of the dust of it, he wasn't sure quite not to make of the scene depicted there.

Dark, ghastly looking creatures dancing what looked like a war dance in the middle of a dead garden, a large fire the only light. In the background there was a terrifying looking creature sitting on a throne of thorns and dead branches. James couldn't tell if it was the dust and grime on the painting that made it so frightening, or if the painting truly was that disturbing. Reaching out, James attempted to brush some of the dust from the oil painting.

The moment his fingers touched the canvas, he felt a jolt. In the next instant, he knew something was wrong. He cried out in both shock and pain as he felt his magic being pulled from him and into the painting. He wrenched his hand away from the horrid thing staggering back against a large cabinet as the dizziness from having his power drained swept over him. As he looked on, the portrait, which had remained still until now, came to life, and the gruesome creatures sprang about, as if finally completing their war dance. But the painting wasn't just moving, it looked like it was morphing, almost as if James' magic had created a vortex within the painting. James watched, horrified as the creature on the throne blinked slowly and shook itself, as if shaking off a powerful enchantment. Slowly the creature smiled, looking directly into James' eyes.

"I thank you, little sorcerer." It said. Its voice sounded like nails on a blackboard. "Thanks to you, I am free."

There was a screeching cheer from the other creatures, and before James could react, they had vanished. Not out of the portrait like a regular painting, but into the distance, still within the boundaries of the frame.

James sat leaning, terrified, against the cabinet for what felt like a life time, too tired and drained to move. Suddenly there was a bright light beside him, and a beautiful woman who was both young and ancient knelt beside him. "James?" Maerad, Queen of the Faeries, asked him gently. "Are you all right?"

"I… portrait." James gasped, the events of the last few moments catching up to him at last. "It… sucked my magic out of me!" he could feel himself starting to become hysterical.

Maerad looked around, wondering what he could be talking about. She gasped as her eyes rested on the now empty painting, vacant but for the still crackling fire. "Oh James!" she cried. "What have you done?"

"I don't know!" James sobbed, his fear overcoming. "I-it wasn't my fault! I just t-touched it a-and…"

"I know James. I know it wasn't really your fault." Maerad sighed. "But still, we have a very big problem on our hands." She helped the boy to his feet, even though he towered over her. "Come on lovey, we have a rather urgent appointment with the headmaster."

* * *

Please tell me what you all think!! Reviews would be lovely!


	2. The Journey into Faery

Thank you _so_ much to the people who reviewed Chapter 1! I was thrilled to get a good response to this fic, since it is by far one of my favourites! I hope you all enjoy this new chapter!

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any related characters. They belong to JK Rowling. However, I own James, his sisters and cousins, as well as Maerad and her family!**

Enjoy!

* * *

**Of Darkness and Light**

**Chapter 2**

Maerad, with her small stature, somehow succeeded in half dragging, half carrying James towards the headmaster's office. In his dazed state, James barely registered the journey from the seventh floor to the Entrance Hall courtyard where Dumbledore's office resided.

"Albus!" Maerad called out, as the gargoyle guarding the office let her through, without the password, James noted dimly. "We need you!"

Albus looked up from his desk where he was attending to some official looking documents. He smiled. "Maerad! What a nice surprise, seeing you 'in the flesh' as it were." He proclaimed, standing to greet the Seelie Queen. His smile faded as he spotted James. "James my boy, it's after curfew. What are you doing here?" he looked from James to Maerad, taking in the Caroller's grim expression, and James' pale face. "What happened?" he asked warily.

"James accidentally unsealed the painting." Maerad told him.

Albus sank back into his chair. "I see." He said gravely. He turned to the fire and threw some Floo Powder into the flames. Sticking his head inside, he held a short conversation before withdrawing and turning back to James and Maerad. "Your parents are on their way, James." He said, and James shuddered, he was in deep trouble when his dad found out. "Sit down my boy, you look worn out." He turned to the portraits on the wall. "Phineas, would you be so kind as to collect Severus and Draco? Armando, I would appreciate it if you would fetch Minerva." The ex-headmasters nodded and walked out of their frames.

At that moment, the fire flared green and Lucius and Harry stepped out of the flames. Forgetting that he would be in serious trouble, James leapt from his chair and flew into Harry's arms. "Dad! I was so scared!" he cried. "I-I don't know what happened! I know you told me to stay in the Common Room but I just wanted to take a walk, I didn't mean for it to happen!" he babbled between heaving sobs.

Harry sighed and held his son tightly. "It's all right James. Merlin knows _I _got into enough trouble when I was your age."

"Yes," Lucius said wryly. "You vanquished a Dark Lord _and_ you were pregnant with this troublemaker," he jerked his head at their son, "when you were his age."

"Exactly." Harry sighed, and smiled encouragingly at James. "Not to say that you're not grounded for the rest of the school year, because you totally are." He told his son with dry humour, and James laughed through his tears.

It was then that Severus and Draco, followed by Minerva, Sirius and Remus (Who were joint Defence teachers) entered the headmaster's office. "Albus? What's going on?" Minerva asked bluntly.

"We have a rather large and serious problem on our hands, I'm afraid." Albus sighed. "James has inadvertently unsealed the portrait of the Unseelie Court."

Severus and Minerva gasped. As professors with tenure and long service at Hogwarts, they were aware of what this was. Harry and Draco, who had spent their final year at Hogwarts under Maerad's care, had some knowledge of the Unseelie, but knew little of its history. "Unsealed?" Lucius asked. "What do you mean unsealed?"

"You understand that my portraits through out the school are windows into Faery?" Maerad asked, and Lucius, Harry, Draco and the others nodded. "I am the Seelie Queen, the ruler over good faeries, albeit some rather mischievous ones. However, where there are windows into the pure areas of Faery, there are also windows into the corrupt, created by the Unseelie Queen. When the school was first completed, the Four Founders knew of my existence, as they were building on a place of power and needed my assistance to do so peacefully. We first transformed the nearby windows to Faery into portraits to better watch the students without them knowing of the existence of Faery, and we soon discovered how much easier it was to use the portraits to travel, even between worlds. It wasn't long after the school's official opening that the Unseelie began to wreak havoc upon the school, leaving their portraits despite the strict rules we have, to cause harm to the unsuspecting students. I assisted the Founders in binding the Queen and her minions into one single portrait, frozen in time by the seal upon the portrait, neither of the human world, nor of Faery. It was hanging down in the dungeons until about seventy five years ago, when the painting was moved into the Room of Requirement. They hung in limbo until James unsealed the portrait last night. For centuries, none but me knew about the Faery portals."

"Why move the painting after all that time?" Remus asked.

"Seventy five years ago Voldemort was at school here." Harry realised.

Albus nodded. "I feared he would find a way to unseal them and unleash the Unseelie on an already terrified wizarding world."

"How did you know about the portrait, if Maerad said that knowledge of the Faery portals was lost to wizards?" Lucius demanded.

Albus smiled faintly. "I met Maerad when I was eleven years old." He replied.

"By sheer accident I assure you." Maerad added dryly. "Nevertheless, I've been pleased to assist students in the capacity of a portrait over the years." She said, smiling at Harry and Draco, who returned her smile with ones of their own.

"So how did James unseal them?" Draco asked, putting his hand on his brother's shoulder as the boy buried his head in Harry's neck. Lucius stood with protective arms around his husband and sons. Beside him, Severus wrapped his arms around Draco's waist.

James answered before Maerad could, his voice muffled in Harry's clothing. "I went for a walk, to clear my head after I left dad and father's quarters." He said. "I was on the seventh floor when Mrs. Norris found me. I hid in the Room of Requirement and found myself in a room with all kinds of stuff in it. I found this," he stepped away from Harry and pulled the copy of _Advanced Potion Making _out of his pocket. "In an old cupboard."

Harry plucked it from his son's hand and looked at it. Wryly, he held it up to Severus and Draco, who both chuckled despite the seriousness of their situation. Turning, Harry threw it into the fire and let it burn. "Dad!" James protested, "That would've been really useful!"

"I know it would have!" Harry said cheerfully, "But you're not going to be using it."

"I'll explain later James." Severus promised, grinning at the boy's perplexed look. "Please continue your story."

"I decided to look around, which was when I found the book." James carried on, "I got to the back of the room and was about to head towards the door and back to the common room when I saw the portrait. It was pretty dusty, so I reached out to brush some of the dust off of it, and then there was a jolt and I felt my magic being pulled out of me. It _hurt_!"

"Just your fae power, or all of it?" Minerva asked him.

"Hmm… just my fae." James replied.

"She has no use for the magic of humans." Maerad confirmed.

"She _thanked_ me." James shuddered.

"Yes, I suspect she did." Maerad replied grimly.

"I believe we need to go and inspect the portrait." Albus declared.

Before he knew it, James was being propelled back towards the seventh floor.

* * *

"Well, the good news is, she completely drained James' power and it still wasn't enough to entirely break the seal." Maerad announced. "The human world is safe, for now."

"And the bad news?" Harry asked acerbically.

"The bad news is that Faery is _not _safe." Maerad answered. "And we have to prevent my dear sister from getting powerful enough to break the remainder of the seal."

"_Sister?_" Harry exclaimed.

Maerad sighed. "Sadly, yes. Harry, where there is light there is also darkness, you know that as well as anyone." Harry nodded in acknowledgement of her statement. "Marishka and I were the first siblings to take the opposing thrones in over a millennia of Faery Kings and Queens. We were never close, even as children; she was swayed to the dark side early on, and groomed to take over the Unseelie, just as I was the Seelie. She was lucky to even survive to take the throne, as the Unseelie are prone to killing off the heirs to the throne in an attempt to get the throne for themselves." She sighed. "I'm getting off the topic. The fact is, while the human world is safe for the time being, it will not remain so for long."

"What do you mean?" Sirius demanded.

"Marishka will use her new found freedom to run rampant in Faery and absorb enough good magic to break out." Maerad said heavily.

"So we just have to find her and seal her back into the painting?" Draco asked. "That should be simple enough if we can find her while she's still weak."

"I'm afraid it's _not_ that simple at all Draco." Maerad told him. "Unfortunately, because James is the one who unsealed her, James must be the one who recaptures her."

"What!" Harry cried, pulling a frightened looking James towards him. "How can he do it on his own? He can't possibly face down an army of evil faeries on his own!" Lucius put his arm around his distraught husband.

"He won't be alone, Harry." Maerad said gently. "He is the central point of the binding spell, but not the only point. It took five to seal her the first time, it will take five again, of both faery and human descent, maybe more. But James is special, he is not a half-blooded faery, nor is he a human who has become a faery. He is a human with fae power. One such as he has never been seen before, and likely never will again." She explained. "It makes him powerful, both as a wizard and as a faery, and someone whom Marishka should be vary wary of!"

"Still, I don't want him facing some deranged bitch with a power complex and a short fuse!" Harry, argued.

James untangled himself from his parents. "Its okay dad." He said gently. He looked over at Maerad. "I caused this, so I'll fix it. What do I have to do?" he asked firmly.

She smiled at him. "You must come with me to Faery." She said. "There I can both protect you and train you for what is to come." She looked James squarely in the eye. "I won't pretend this is going to be easy James. It is unlikely you will be welcomed by my subjects; they do not take kindly to outsiders, and Marishka will undoubtedly try to sway you to the Unseelie. It will be dangerous, but you will have the best protection I, as Seelie Queen, can offer."

"I understand." James replied, his voice hard. "I still want to do it."

"Are you sure, James?" Lucius asked him.

"Yes father." The boy replied determinedly. "I am sure."

"Very well, but we're coming with you." Harry announced.

"Dad!" James sputtered, surprised.

"A good idea, actually." Maerad said. "We will need you to complete the binding spell."

"Then I'm coming too!" Draco said.

"No, Draco. Its bad enough that one of my sons is in danger. I won't have you doing the same." Lucius said firmly. "I need you and Severus to stay here and take care of Miranda for me. Antigone and Ismene too. Besides, you can't leave Ariel and Toby here alone. They'll worry."

"He's right Draco." Severus said to his husband gently. He looked to his best friend. "We'll take care of the girls Luc." He promised.

"Thanks Sev." Lucius replied gratefully.

"We'd best get going now." Maerad told them. "Go and pack your things and meet me by your old rooms. I trust you remember where they are, Harry?"  
Harry nodded and guided his son out of the Room and back into the corridor, Lucius hurrying behind them.

* * *

Harry, Lucius and James met Maerad out the front of the portrait of the Faery Garden. Maerad herself was already in the portrait. The rooms behind the portrait held many memories for Harry, and he smiled fondly at the recollection of his Seventh Year.

"Ready to go?" Maerad asked them gently.

Harry and Lucius both looked towards James. "Ready to go sweetheart?" Harry asked his oldest son.

James took a deep breath and nodded. "Yeah. I'm ready." He replied.

"Then lets get going." Maerad said with an encouraging smile for the seventeen year old. She reached out a hand towards Harry, and James started when her hand stretched _out_ of the painting. Harry grasped it and allowed her to draw him into the painting with her. James was ushered through the painting next by his father, with Lucius following behind him.

"Welcome, my dear friends, to Faery." Maerad said cheerfully.

James' head swivelled from side to side as he took in the beauty of Faery. Every where as far as the eye could see there were trees and plants in the full bloom of spring, and tiny elemental faeries gambolled in the sunlight. Faery apparently ran on a different timeline to the human world.

"The Seelie Court isn't too far from here." Maerad said to them. "But we're to wait here until our guard comes for us. They should be here any minute… Ah! There they are!" she exclaimed, and waved enthusiastically to the approaching men on horseback, bouncing on her toes in her excitement. _As if she were a small child rather than an ancient and powerful queen!_ James thought wryly.

He noticed, however, that the lead rider had returned her wave with one of his own.

"Cíaran!" Maerad called when the horsemen had drawn level with them and dismounted. "Its good to see you darling!"

The one called Cíaran, a tall faery with auburn hair and smiling sapphire blue eyes bowed to Maerad, and then smiled. "It is good to see you too, Grandmother."

"_Grandmother?!_" James exclaimed.

Cíaran flashed him a smile that made his heart stop for a moment. "Yes, I am the Queen's grandson. You must be James Malfoy. Grandmother has told me much about you."

James blushed. "None of it good I'm sure." He mumbled.

Cíaran laughed. "Quite the contrary." He assured him. "She has nothing but praise for you, isn't that right Grandmother?"

Maerad nodded sagely. "Oh yes." She replied with a smile.

Cíaran bowed to Harry and Lucius, and exchanged pleasantries with them, before stating. "We must get going. It shall be dark soon, and Unseelie activity is already increasing after dusk." He supplied a horse for his grandmother, and one for Harry and Lucius to share (Harry wasn't much of a rider, however Lucius was an expert), and boosted James up onto his own horse (James wasn't much of a rider either!), before settling himself into the saddle behind James and leading the pack towards the Seelie Court.

"I can't believe Maerad is a grandmother!" James said, to himself more than anybody else. "She doesn't look old enough to have _children_, let alone grandchildren."

"High Fae like us can choose our forms." Cíaran explained. "We have humanoid appearances, but because we have such long lives we can choose what we look like. I guess you could call it Grandmother's one vanity. Her age, that is, so she prefers to look childlike, something my mother and sister highly disapprove of."

James wondered what Cíaran's mother and sister would be like. Would they be kind and amicable like Maerad and Cíaran? He figured he'd find out soon enough.

As if Cíaran read his mind (which, in all fairness, he could probably do if was so inclined), he announced that they were approaching the gates of the Seelie Court.

Again, James' head swivelled from side to side as he took in the sights of the out ring of the Seelie Court. Amused by his antics, Cíaran explained as they entered the stables. "This is the Summer Court, ruled over by the Summer King. Who, incidentally, is a feckless moron with a love of ambrosia wine."

"Hey! I heard that!" an indignant voice sounded from the entrance of the stables.

Cíaran grinned. "He's also my best friend, so I can get away with saying things like that." He told the bemused James. "James Malfoy, this is Keenan, the Summer King."

Keenan, a laughing blond with a strong summer tan and chocolate coloured eyes, held out his hand, which James shook nervously. "Don't worry James, I don't bite." He said with a wink.

"Much." Cíaran muttered behind James, and Keenan grinned.

"Well, only if you want me to." He clarified, making James blush.

"Get lost Keenan!" Cíaran snapped, throwing a curry brush at his friend. Laughing, Keenan dodged the brush. "All right, I'm going!" he said, holding up his hands in supplication and leaving the stables. "Later, Cíaran!"

"Yeah, later." Cíaran mumbled. "Sorry about him." He said to James, "Keenan is incorrigible at the best of times." He smiled at the by now overwhelmed Malfoy.

"T-that's okay." James stammered. "But what's the difference between the Seelie Court and the Summer Court?" he asked.

"The Summer Court and the High Court make up the Seelie Court together." Cíaran explained. "Most of what we call the 'Court friends' reside within the Summer Court, since most of the High Fae will tolerate them, but don't particularly… _approve_ of them. Within the High Court only High Fae can hold positions of importance. Hence why Keenan is a High Fae, but many of his subjects are not. It is the same within the Unseelie, which is made up of the Dark Court, and the Winter Court."

"What are the Court friends?" James asked curiously.

"Usually they are the offspring of faeries that have bred with humans, or humans that have become faeries. Keenan has the Summer Girls, girls who were once human who became Summer faeries to be with him." Cíaran shook his head. "There are others, but that is a tale for another time." He said as James succumbed to a yawn. "You are exhausted. Having you power pulled out of you like that has strained your body. You must get some sleep. Tomorrow we will begin your training.

*** * * ***

Keenan met Cíaran after the young prince had escorted James to his rooms in Maerad's palace. "You are very taken with him." The Summer King observed dryly. "And I can see why. He is quite exquisite."

"Back off Keenan." Cíaran said warningly. "You have your girls, lets leave it at that, shall we?"

"Please!" Keenan waved a hand in his friend's face dismissively. "Not my type. I prefer them strictly _female_."

"It wouldn't be the first time you stole a lover from me." Cíaran observed.

"Not in centuries." Keenan shrugged.

"Last decade." Cíaran reminded him.

"Really?" Keenan asked mock innocently, and Cíaran shoved him good naturedly. "Well, good luck, my old friend. It is quite clear you are smitten with the pretty thing."

Cíaran smiled goofily. "Indeed I am my friend, indeed I am."

* * *

The end of Chapter 2! What do you all think of Cíaran? I am aiming to bring to the story someone who will take care of and look after James as Lucius takes care of and looks after Harry. As a side note, I have borrowed Keenan and the Summer Court from Melissa Marr's _Wicked Lovely_, since I though he was brilliant and a great way to add to the dynamics of my version of the Seelie Court. _Wicked Lovely _is a brilliant book and you guys should all totally check it out! Keenan and his subjects will probably make more appearances later in the story!

Until Chapter 3!


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